Research on the optimization control of Coal Flotation

Abstract

Coal flotation is the most broadly used separation method to process the fine coal. However, flotation is not fully understood and remains relatively inefficient because of the many influencing factors which increase the difficulties to control the flotation process. The basic control algorithm for the coal flotation is the feed-forward control to the feed concentration, the slurry level and the reagent dosing. This control model is widely utilized because of the easy realization. However the control results are usually not satisfactory as the control system cannot adapt the quality fluctuation of the feed, obtain the on-line quality of the feed and the products, and also cannot statistically calculate the clean-coal recovery and other production management information. The attainment of the coal slurry ash detector provides the novel method to resolve the problems above. This paper studies how to increase the production capacity and decrease the reagent consumption through the optimization control under the premise of the accepted concentrate ash content. The application of the optimal control of Coal Flotation indicates a high concentrate recovery and a decrease of the reagent consumption to ensure a highly efficient operation.